We are incredibly honored to be included in the New York Times as a pioneer in the online magazine industry. It is a recognition of our field, the talent of our community, and above all, your support. As you may have seen, the tone of the piece caused a bit of a stir on the web. To this point, we would love to recognize Grace Bonney for her thoughtful and articulate response. It contained wonderfully constructive criticism young women like ourselves can learn from and highlighted the great potential for our field and the future of online media.

Please know that the editors of Lonny, Rue, and High Gloss are some of the kindest and most talented people we’ve encountered. We have nothing but the utmost respect and support for each other and would go to bat for them any day of the week. Behind these publications are six young women that work tirelessly seven days a week to bring their hundreds of thousands of readers inspiration. The piece failed to highlight this.

We ourselves are professionals and take the work that we do very seriously. The article states, “None of the new magazines’ founders can claim much experience in either design or publishing. Only Ms. Adams has a background in interior design…” We’d especially like to clarify one point: Katie worked in high end residential interior design for three years and Jane worked in freelance design before spending two years on J.P. Morgan’s creative team. To that point, a retraction will be printed in the New York Times.

With all this said, there is much to take away from this article and experience. We are incredibly excited about the future of our industry and its endless possibilities. We will continue to carve out our own path and thank you for your support, encouragement, and enthusiasm along the way. And yes, it’s true, we “don’t even have an office” — but we will someday and it will look damn good.

The Matchbook girls have only just begun.

Faithfully yours,

Katie + Jane

P.S. We thrive on your feedback and would love to hear your thoughts either here or on Facebook. Let the discussion begin!